Built in the 1870s and one of few remaining examples of its kind, the architecturally significant Dalton Pumping Station at Seaham, County Durham, suffered major structural damage in the late 1940s and has had to wait 50 years before a cost-effective and unobtrusive means of repair was available. Now, thanks to a major grant of £530,000 from English Heritage and non-disruptive repair products and techniques from Helifix, the fabric of this important Grade II listed building has been fully restored by Approved Installer, Peter Wakefield Restorations.

Severe machinery vibrations had caused he complete end gable to crack away from the main structure and, exaggerated by differential settlement, resulted in cracks being several inches wide in places. HeliBar stainless steel helical rods, in pairs or sets of three, were bonded into channelled out bed joints at various heights around all four sides of the main building which is 20m high and has solid brick walls up to 900mm thick at the base. This effectively stabilised the structure and distributed the building loads without creating any additional stressed.